We’ve got your daily encouragement, written by Lindsey Strickler.
Bible Reading:
“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to act.”
Word:
This whole month is dedicated to the Faith Skill of Power. What is it? It’s something we all want. It’s something we crave. It’s something that leads to both destruction and life in our world. Definitions of Power in Merriam-Webster include, “ability to act or produce an effect;” “possession of control, authority, or influence over others;” “physical might;” “mental or moral efficacy;” and, “political control or influence.”
BibleStudyTools.com says, “The Bible uses a variety of Hebrew and Greek terms that represent the semantic domain of power although they may be translated in different ways…The Greek term exousia [ejxousiva] is most often translated “power” in the King James Version but it is almost always translated “authority” in modern versions. The contextual nuance of each occurrence of a Hebrew or Greek word must be considered in translation.”
They go on to say, “Power (dunamis [duvnami”]) in the ancient Greek world was portrayed as a major cosmic principle. Some philosophers viewed it as second only to mind (nous [nou'”]). They viewed God and cosmic principle as equivalent. It was rare for them to speak of “the power of God” since these ideas were nearly equivalent. In the Bible, however, God is a person not merely power. Therefore, a phrase like “the power of God” takes on new meaning because a person who possesses the characteristic of power is the prime mover of the universe. Furthermore, the biblical deity is a God of history, not just nature. Therefore, this God brings the world into existence ( Jer 27:5 ; 32:17 ) and distributes power to people to fulfill his historical purposes (cf. Exodus 15:6 Exodus 15:13 ; Deut 3:24 ; Psalm 46:1 ; 86:16 ).”
The biblical description of power relates primarily to God and people.”
In short, Power refers to influence, ability, skill, strength, etc. There’s a lot of potential ways you can go with it. Bottom line is though, is’t not by our ability, or strength, or strength or influence, it’s by God’s; yet we get the coolest opportunity to step into what God’s doing.
Prayer:
God, you are power. You are the source and the expression of it. Help me to turn to you more this week. Open my eyes in the coming days to how I have been selling you and my story short because I’m nervous to be in a situation where you power would get the opportunity to show up. God, please forgive me.
Skillwork:
As you read the verses this month, we’d challenge you to go a step further and look up the Greek or Hebrew word used in that day’s verse. See if it provides any deeper understanding to what you’re ready. BibleStudyTools.com is a great resource for this, as is biblehub.com.
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